At the meeting, the Steering Committee focused on discussing the final draft report on the work of judicial reform in 2017 and the direction in 2018; the report on "Collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on judicial index measurement and development"; and the report on the renewal and intensification of reconciliation and dialogue in the settlement of civil and administrative cases.
Speaking at the meeting, President Quang, who is also the Head of the Steering Committee, said that in 2017, the committee has recorded positive results in judicial work, with continued leading the study, amendment, supplementation and elaboration of legal documents related to judiciary activities, while perfecting mechanisms, policies and solutions to raise the quality and efficiency of the operation of lawyers' organisations, legal aid, notarisation and judicial expertise.
The committee has well implemented projects on prevention and combat of negative acts in judicial activities and well directed the renewal of supervisory activities of the National Assembly and the People's Councils, as well as the reception and settlement of complaints and denunciations of citizens related to judiciary activities.
However, there is still limitation, as inspection and monitoring of the task implementation has not been conduct regularly, while training for strong judicial staff and implementation of projects on prevention and the combating of negative acts in judicial activities has not been synchronously conducted.
The State leader stressed the need for thoroughly implement the specific tasks set out in judicial reform policies by the Politburo, as well as under the Steering Committee’s programmes during the 2016-2021 term, plus ensuring the strict implementation of "Continuing to accelerate the implementation of the strategy on judicial reform" adopted by the 12th Party National Congress.
Regarding the working programme of the Steering Committee 2018, President Quang urged for continued implementation of its regular meetings for every three months in accordance with the regulations of the Politburo and the Steering Committee, focusing on the main content of facilitating performance of judicial reform.
Regarding to the proposal of the Vietnam Lawyers’ Association, President Quang said that the Steering Committee appreciated the results of cooperation between the association and the UNDP in Vietnam in surveying the justice indicators, saying that the committee basically supports the development of the judicial indicators stated in the report.
However, as this is a new and complicated issue, the leader urged the Vietnam Lawyers' Association to carefully refer to the suggestions from members of the Steering Committee and its Secretariat, while widely consulting relevant agencies, organisations and experts experience to develop a set of suitable and feasible criteria in order to submit to the Steering Committee before implementation.
The State President also gave a nod to the proposal from the Supreme People's Court in building project on facilitating renovation and enhancement of reconciliation and dialogue in the settlement of civil disputes and administrative lawsuits. The Hai Phong city People's Court was chosen to be piloted conducting conciliation and dialogue trials.
